In 2000, Teach for America volunteer Allison El Koubi was placed at Jackson Middle School in East Feliciana Parish as an eighth-grade teacher. She taught for six years, and was voted Teacher of the Year three years in a row. Today, El Koubi is the school’s principal—something she hadn’t anticipated eight years ago.
As a matter of fact, El Koubi hadn’t considered such a career at any school. Her views gradually evolved during the course of earning her master’s in school leadership from LSU’s College of Education and an MBA from Solvay Business School in Belgium and helping found the KIPP Central City Academy in New Orleans.
“I was worried I wasn’t going to be enough of a disciplinarian,” she says. “I thought I had the instructional leadership. I thought I was fine with that. This year, to my surprise, I’ve become this very strict disciplinarian. The kids told me, ‘I thought you were going to be really nice. You should be in the military.’”
Using techniques and strategies she learned at KIPP, El Koubi has helped Jackson Middle School make notable gains in student behavior and performance in just a few months.
There’s plenty of work to be done. El Koubi says the key is instilling in students and teachers alike a sense of buy-in toward a common goal: achievement. It’s also important for teachers to know they have the support of administration, she says.
“I think that my teachers feel like we’re going to back them up,” she says. “They really appreciate having that support. Teachers are the most important people in the building.”
In the meantime, El Koubi thinks she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be.
“It’s really crazy, but when I found that this position was open, I really couldn’t think about any other job,” she says. “I just feel like I have my dream job here, which not many principals say. It’s a lot of fun. The kids are great. I think they just want to know that somebody cares about them.”
Age: 30
What is Baton Rouge’s biggest strength in the quest to attract young professionals?
“I feel like we have a high quality of life here. It’s a narcotic lifestyle: LSU games, Mardi Gras, crawfish. It’s a really fun place to live. I’m really proud when people come visit us. We like to show them around. At the same time, there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Click here for the complete list of 2008's Forty Under 40 winners.
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